Zoophoria
by RiddleKitty
Summary: Some Dr. Animo short stories. Hopefully will be a collection of sorts as time goes by and I get more done. Omniverse based.
1. Multiplicity

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from the show.

**Info:** Just some random, short Omniverse Animo stories, some based off of prompts I received. Like the summary mentions, I intend this to be longer than two stories in the future. Don't know exactly how long and how many I'll end up with... but we'll see. It might end up being a lot, since I can't get enough of that guy!

* * *

**Multiplicity**

It was well beyond 'lights-out' time in the Plumber prison, but the prisoners didn't really have to sleep. Dr. Animo was wide awake, busy sewing up his latest mutant creation. When it was finished, he held it up triumphantly.

"Ah, my newest species!" He set the stuffed half-squirrel/half-bird down on the bunk bed behind him before bowing to his peer audience of other stuffed mutants, which he had positioned around his workspace.

"Fantastic work as always, Dr. Animo," he spoke to himself in a low, deep voice. "You never cease to amaze."

"Your genius truly knows no bounds," he said as his many-eyed creature, in a soft and feminine voice.

"It's a shame they keep you locked away here when you should be ruling the world," he said in a squeaky, shrill voice while picking up a small cat-like creature with spider legs and bat wings.

"Oh, it is, my friends, it is." He laid down on his 'operating table' and held the cat-spider-bat in his arms, petting its head gently. "I keep unleashing brilliant plans, and that accursed Ben Tennyson shows up and I get locked up in here again by the Plumbers!" Animo allowed the creature to 'fly' from his hands (by tossing it over to the bunk bed, where it 'perched' on the head of another stuffed mutant). "But I vow to destroy Tennyson once and for all, along with the Plumbers, very soon."

"Death to Ben Tennyson!" he cheered, as something that looked like a cross between a pig and a moose with a lizard tail, in a vaguely Russian accented voice.

"And the Pwumbers too," he quickly added in a childish tone, speaking as a small turtle/teddy bear with a somewhat adorable smiling face.

"Yes! Curse them all," Dr. Animo yelled, changing back to his own voice while shaking his fist.

"Hey! Shaddup in there, I'm tryin' to sleep!" came a gruff growl from one cell over, along with three loud bangs of a fist against the wall.

Dr. Animo rose from the table and clenched his fists. "My genius cannot be silenced, nor will it be!" He slid off the table and walked over to the wall. "So there!" he added in an immature fashion, kicking the wall for good measure. The sound caused a ruckus when other prisoners around his cell began to wake up and complain.

Two guards came to investigate the commotion, sighing in frustration once they learned who was behind yet another nightly disturbance.

"Animo again. Figures," said the first as he walked up to the locked doorway and peered in. He tapped on the door's slightly see-through material with his gun. "Come on, Animo. Knock it off. Put your toys away and go to bed."

Dr. Animo startled the guard by appearing suddenly, slapping his palms against the door as he did so. Animo's appearance was already disturbing to the guards. Seeing his sharp-toothed sneer and red goggles in the darkness made it worse.

"They're_ not_ toys," he asserted, his claws tapping against the door in return. "They're prototypes! The first in a long line of destruction that will eventually signify your DOOOOOOM!" He yelled the last word, fists clenched dramatically.

Dr. Animo turned away from the door. "You tell him, Dr. Animo!" he shouted in yet another zany voice, this time a failed attempt at a tough Brooklyn accent for one of his penguin-rhino creatures. He turned back to the guard. "Quiet! I'm intimidating someone!" Turned back away. "Oh, sorry!"

The guards weren't sure whether to feel irritation or pity. They eventually decided on indifference.

"Seems like a good time to test out the Somnus System," said the first guard, backing away from the door.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna listen to this all night," said the second, rubbing his aching temples. "I switched over to the night shift because it's supposed to be quiet!" He opened up a control panel on the wall next to Animo's cell and slapped a button with his palm before leaning toward the door. "_G'night_, Doc."

Dr. Animo had time to look confused before his cell became flooded with a blue gas. "What the? Ah!" He coughed a few times and waved his hands futility, vanishing into the gas cloud. "Your inept security measures won't stop me for long, Plumber! I'll break free yet again! And when I do—guh!" His rant was cut off with a thump as he fell to the floor, out cold.

Once again the prison was dead quiet, and would remain that way—at least until Dr. Animo woke up the next morning.


	2. Turbulence

**Sum:** Doc's plans go awry, thanks to the heroic intervention of Ben and company.

* * *

**Turbulence**

"Tennyson!" Dr. Animo shouted at the figure below, which was little more than a blue streak by the time he and his latest mutant reached the enemy's position. He shook his fist in aggravation.

XLR8 waved to him and slowed down for a taunt. "Too slow! You're gonna have to speed it up if you wanna catch me, Dr. Animo!" He gave a salute before closing his visor and shooting off into the distance, leaving Dr. Animo and his bat in the dust.

"Young fool! Did you think I wouldn't be prepared for your arsenal of annoying aliens?"

Animo's bat soared overhead, speeding up as fast as it could before opening its huge mouth and shrieking out a sonic blast down toward the carelessly zigzagging XLR8.

XLR8's cocky grin vanished as the ground blasted apart in front of him, sending him spiraling into the air. "Whoa! That's what I get for not paying attention," he said in his rapid tone before smashing into a nearby tree. Upon sliding down, he let out a pained, "Ow."

XLR8 disappeared in a flash of green and Ben reappeared, shaking off his daze and rubbing his head. He didn't lose his confident grin, however. Ben looked up when the shadow of Animo's bat appeared.

"Nice effort, but two can play at that game, Animo, unless you've forgotten about some of the aliens in my arsenal!"

Ben selected his intended alien, slapped the Omnitrix, and again vanished in a burst of green light before another sonic blast from Animo's bat smashed apart and uprooted the tree. Echo Echo appeared, splitting apart into four while back flipping to either side of the downed tree.

"How about.."

"A taste of your.."

"Own medicine..."

"Doc!"

Each of the Echo Echoes opened their mouths and fired precisely directed sonic screams at the mutant bat's double set of ears. The bat shuddered and shrieked, recoiling in the air and nearly causing Dr. Animo to become dislodged from his seating.

"Whoaaaa!"

Dr. Animo flailed but gripped the fur on the back of his creation's neck, steadying the creature. "Careful, my pet. You're stronger than they are... so smash those diminutive pests!"

The bat screamed angrily in response, its sharp eyes focusing on the tiny enemies. Under its master's orders, it swooped down and unleashed another more intense scream, this time scattering the Echo Echos in different directions.

"Ben!"

The Echo Echoes each looked to a hill in the distance, where Rook was battling a collection of mutated chipmunks as innocent bystanders rushed to get out of the way. Rook punched away one of the beasts and fired his Proto-Tool's grappling line around the mouth of another before it could snap shut around his leg.

"Do not focus on the bat. Focus on Animo instead!" He continued his fight with the chipmunks, leaving Ben with the advice.

One Echo Echo placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Good point. Animo is controlling the bat."

"If we distract Animo, the bat will follow suit," said another.

The Echo Echoes high-fived. "Let's do it!"

"I'll bet you weren't prepared for this!" Dr. Animo shouted, as his bat unleashed several rings of energy from its mouth that hit the ground around the running Echo Echos and burned it.

The Echo Echoes ignored the attack while dodging, running up to higher ground while Dr. Animo's bat flew above. When it got within reach, each of them jumped on it and clung to its fur.

"Gah! No riders!" Dr. Animo snarled as his bat growled and shrieked in discomfort. He attempted to smack on of the Echo Echos away, to no avail. The other three scrambled to different parts of his bat and began pulling hair and tugging ears while one in the lead made taunting faces at Dr. Animo. "Get off, you little punk! You're distracting me!" He again attempted to swat at the Echo Echo, but it dodged. It grabbed his goggles and tugged them, eventually letting them go so they snapped back. Dr. Animo yelped in pain and grabbed his face.

"Actually... that would be the point, genius!" said the last Echo Echo. The others had done their part and jumped off of the mutant bat moments beforehand.

Echo Echo gave him a wave and bailed out, leaving Dr. Animo to stare in confusion before gasping, a large tree zooming intro his line of sight.

"Aaaah! Pull up, pull up!" Dr. Animo frantically ordered his bat, lightly tugging at its ears. The bat was too out of control and couldn't stop. Both Dr. Animo and his bat let out a scream in unison as they smashed through the leaves of the tree and into the branches.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" said Echo Echo after recalling his clones. Ben transformed once again, smirking while he looked into the tree where Animo and his big bat ad crash-landed. The leaves were still falling from it like it was autumn. Just for fun, Ben strolled close and had himself a better view of his subdued enemy. "Hey, Animo," he called up, "isn't this the part where you shake your fist and yell, 'I'll get you next time, Ben Tennyson!' at me?"

Dr. Animo, groggy from the crash, his hair covered in twigs and leaves, groaned. "I'll get you next time, Ben Tennyson!" he said weakly, his voice marked with disorientation. "Mark my words. Ugh." Then he promptly passed out.

"All in a day's work," Ben said while Rook walked up, dragging behind him the group of tied-up chipmunk mutants.

"I believe, as they say, I have 'roped me some doggies'," said Rook with a smile.

"Dude, you have gotta stop looking up old, outdated lingo," Ben muttered, shaking his head.


	3. Turtle Power

**Sum: **Doc's plans are foiled again by Ben and Rook. Or are they?

* * *

**Turtle Power**

Ben and Rook arrived at the Bellwood Zoo just in time to witness a large crowd of terrified patrons fleeing the scene.

"Looks like we made it just in time," said Ben. "No one's hurt yet" He jumped out of the Proto-TRUK along with Rook, ready to take down the latest bad guy on the loose. "And no one will be—No one but Dr. Animo!"

The pair ran through the gates, noting the zoo looked otherwise free of damage despite Animo's invasion, all the animals safe in their enclosures—not mutated into hideous, bloodthirsty beasts.

"Okay, so where is he? Usually he shows up with a bunch of mutant, I dunno, weasels or turtles or something, and starts trying to kill us right after we show up to ruin his crazy plan." Ben held his Omnitrix bearing arm out at the ready, just in case the mad doctor made a sudden appearance. "Hello? Animo?"

"Ben, shh," Rook whispered. "Perhaps this time, the element of surprise would be the better advised choice here." Rook held his Proto-Tool at the ready and began to slowly survey the area.

Ben sighed, shrugging. "Yeah, yeah. Stealth. Gotcha." He adjusted the Omnitrix for a good alien to fit the situation. "Hmm. Nanomech would come in handy right now!" Ben slapped a palm over the Omnitrix and transformed.

Rath appeared out of the flash of green light, roaring loudly.

"Let me tell you somethin', Doctor Animo," Rath's gruff voice boomed across the entire zoo, "maker of mutated mutants, terrorizer of normally peaceful suburban neighborhoods and recreational areas! _Rath is gettin' tired of your shenanigans!_"

A few feet away, Rook sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Well. So much for stealth."

"Come on out and face Rath, so Rath can serve you up a heaping helping of justice, in the form of Rath's fists pounding repeatedly into your scrawny, squishy body!" Rath clenched his large fists and shook them in the air, his bellowing loud enough to frighten a cage of nearby monkeys into frantic screeches. Rath turned to face them. "Oh, you want some too, tiny captive primates? Don't even give Rath a reason to come over, because _Rath will come over there!_"

Rook rubbed his temples. "Perhaps you could lower your voice a few octaves?"

"Hey! Listen here, alien partner who I never wanted but am gradually forming a strong and healthy emotional bond with as time goes on, this is normal speaking tone for Rath!"

A sudden roar in the distance followed by a sharp scream quickly caught their attention.

"Someone in danger," Rook noted with a look of concern.

"Rath is on it!"

With a growl, Rath jumped several feet into the air and headed toward the scream, easily bouncing over brick walls and other obstacles in his path with his Appoplexian agility. Rook followed behind at a close distance, grappling over the many building rooftops with his Proto-Tool. Not before long, they arrived in a clearing in front of the Reptile House, right next to the Antarctic World section of the park.

"We do not know exactly where the cry originated. Animo and his potential hostage could be in either area," Rook said, his yellow eyes darting from the Reptile House to the adjoining Antarctic World. "Which one will you take, partner?"

Rath's face scrunched up with concentration. After a few uneasy seconds, he threw up his clawed hands. "Uuuuh, Rath isn't good at making decisions!"

"Then I will take the Antarctic World," Rook decided for them both.

"Okay!" Rath ran into the Reptile House, ready to pound anything that dared jump out at him. "Come on out, Doctor Animo! Rath will teach you a lesson about breaking into zoos, and tryin' to transform all the cute and cuddly creatures of the vast animal kingdom into members of your criminal army!"

Dr. Animo's laugh echoed in the darkened corridor. "Do your worst, Ben Tennyson! Not even your strongest brute of an alien will be able to defeat my latest creation!"

A shadowy form appeared, causing Rath to pounce at it with his fists.

"Oh yeah? Rath will see about that when Rath breaks your—"

Rath's fist came in contact with something extremely hard. He yelled, grabbing his aching hand.

"AH! That wasn't supposed to happen to Rath!" Rath danced around in a circle, holding his throbbing hand.

The thing he had smashed his fist against came out of the shadows. It turned out to be a gigantic mutant tortoise, with Dr. Animo riding triumphantly on its back. The creature's shell was impossibly thick, strong as the armor on a tank, and decorated with rows of long spikes. The mutant opened its sharp beak and let out a hiss.

"Go ahead and try all you like. You can't smash your way through this tortoise's armored shell." He thrust out a hand in Rath's direction, directing his mutant. "But we shall certainly smash _you_. Decimate him, my pet!"

With a low growl that become a breathy roar, the tortoise lunged at Rath. Rath gasped and jumped out of the way before the beast's jaws snapped shut. With a grunt, Rath fell to the ground just as the Omnitrix timed out.

"Oh man. Why can't I ever just have a good day?" Ben groaned.

The tortoise crawled slowly but surely toward him and slapped its clawed foot down where his body had been moments before he scrambled away. Ben fumbled with the Omnitrix while avoiding the tortoise's sudden barrage of fire.

"Why does he... make everything... breath _fire?!_" Ben yelled while dodging, narrowly avoiding the seat of his pants getting scorched. He transformed again, seconds before falling into the nearby crocodile enclosure.

Terraspin flew out of the enclosure, using his wind powers to blow the flames back at Animo and his pet. The tortoise grunted and turned its face away in confusion. Animo gasped and batted small flames from his clothing. Growling, he ordered his pet to attack a second time. The tortoise opened its mouth and released a dark green gas at Terraspin, who had landed in front of them.

"This gas is poisonous enough to take down an elephant! Soon you'll be—" Animo stopped in mid-sentence once the gas cleared around Terraspin, who was waving a flipper, looking completely unfazed.

"Sorry, Doc. Not working," said Terraspin. "Boy, I'm sure glad you don't have access to any of the files on my aliens," he added, muttering to himself before ducking his head back into his shell and rising into the air. Terraspin sucked up the gas. He savored the moment as Dr. Animo developed a worried expression once realization dawned on him. "You know, for such a _genius_, Doc... you really don't think these things through."

The tortoise pulled its head and limbs into its shell and stayed there, leaving Animo exposed.

"Ah! No! What are you doing?! Come out of there!" Dr. Animo banged on the shell with his fist.

"What's it gonna be, Doc?" Terraspin said from within his shell, still holding the gas. "You did say this gas was deadly enough to take down an elephant. How much do you weigh?"

Grumbling curses to himself, Dr. Animo jumped from his mutant and ran.

Terraspin quickly dispersed the gas up into the air and through a vent, then flew off in hot pursuit of Dr. Animo. It wasn't long before he arrived outside, where Rook had Animo tied to a fence by a grapple line. Two mutated polar bears lay unconscious and tied up a few feet away. From the look of it, Ben had missed out on a far more interesting battle. A little girl with blonde hair and pigtails stood close by Rook, chewing on her fingertip.

"I see you found the hostage," Terraspin said as he landed and transformed back into Ben. "Bad guys taken care of, day saved. Sweet! That took less time than I expected."

"I lost my mommy," the little girl said, reaching out to tug on Rook's extended hand.

"There is still one matter that requires taking care of," said Rook, smiling at the little girl reassuringly. He looked at Ben. "And what of Animo's other mutant?"

"Big ol' turtle. Not a problem," Ben said, thumbing behind him. "Breathes fire and poison gas, but doesn't look like it moves more than two feet per hour."

"Ha!" came Animo's unexpected cackle. He struggled feebly with his binds while grinning his standard sharp-toothed grin at the pair of heroes. "You think you've defeated me, Ben Tennyson. But I've created a_ triple _contingency plan!" Animo's exposed brain glowed as he unleashed his powers. "Come, my pet! _Destroy Ben Tennyson!_"

Ben rolled his eyes, sighing angrily. "Oh, come on, Doctor Animo! You know that whatever freaky animal you throw at me, I'll just defeat, like, two minutes later."

A hauntingly familiar call echoed across the zoo, causing Ben to tense up suddenly and cringe, his eyes wide. A chill went down his spine.

"Except... _that!_" he whispered fearfully.

"Ben?" Rook looked concerned, knowing exactly what the odd bird call had been. "Do not panic!"

"I almost forgot we're in a _zoo!_ And zoos... have..." Ben whimpered before trailing off.

The freakish bird call sounded again, this time right behind a wall that exploded outward shortly after, causing Ben to erupt into girlishly high-pitched screaming. He managed one word in between all the shrieking:

"_PEACOCK!_"


	4. Bitter Pill

**Sum: **The Plumber HQ medics try to treat a wounded Dr. Animo, who isn't exactly enthused about it. Ben is there to make sure things go well. But do they? Not really.

* * *

**Bitter Pill**

The prison level wasn't the only recently enhanced high-security level of Plumber HQ. Thanks to the sheer amount of volatile, vicious, cunning and—most of all—immensely _powerful_ interstellar criminals Ben Tennyson brought down on a weekly basis, the medical ward had beefed up its security as well. Ben often brought his enemies down as hard as they tried to bring him down. Sometimes harder, if they were truly deserving. And a lot definitely were. But, there were always a handful of exceptions.

In Dr. Animo's case, he wasn't exactly a powerful or threatening villain. He sometimes seemed to do more damage to himself than Ben did to him. Ben found Animo more annoying than anything, but once in a while he felt an ever so slight twinge of pity for the mad doctor. The man didn't know when to quit.

"Boy, do I hate Mondays," Ben groaned, in the form of Shocksquatch, carrying a semi-struggling Dr. Animo over his broad shoulder. He followed the various signs pointing the way to the medical ward with Rook keeping stride beside him.

"I have never quite understood the hatred for this particular day of the week," said Rook, shrugging. "Or is this another Earth expression with deeper meaning that I am as of yet unfamiliar with?"

"Expression," said Shocksquatch. "Hey, knock it off, Doc! You're only makin' it worse, eh?"

Rook shook his head, sighing. "Dr. Animo, you have a fractured arm. It would be wise to listen to reason, and not engage in any further unnecessary movements before-"

Animo kicked his leg out, barely missing Rook's head, forcing him to duck.

'Whoa, hey!" Shocksquatch grabbed Dr. Animo as he struggled.

"I may be detained, but I'll never submit to you, Tennyson! And friend," he spat, straining to glance at Rook, who had moved farther away. "You'll never—AAAAAAAAAAH!" Animo's head snapped up, his pointed teeth clenched.

"What'd we tell ya?" It was Shockquatch's turn to shake his shaggy head and sigh heavily. "Now settle down and quit bein' a baby!"

The trio passed beneath the overhead sign proclaiming _Med Ward_.

Rook had radioed in the request for the detainee's medical attention beforehand. A group of skilled medics stood at the ready, their faces etched with tension. It wasn't the first time the infamous Dr. Animo had been brought here. No, today made about the seventeenth time in total.

Each one of the medical team wore additional garb over their standard scrubs. Namely protective gloves and arm guards. Two even wore helmets with shielding face plates. As weak as Ben thought Dr. Animo was, here in the medical ward, no one wanted to be on the wrong side of Animo's teeth or claws. Several of them had in the past, and knew what the consequences of letting Animo get a hold of an unprotected limb were. In all regards,_painful_.

"Oh man, not this guy again." A young male medic trembled slightly. He still had scars from his last encounter with Dr. Animo.

"Howdy," Shocksquatch greeted them, forcing Dr. Animo down on an examination table in the center of the room. "We'll get outta your hair in a minute." Once Animo was on the table, the medical team surrounded him and attempted to strap him down. Ben changed back to his human form. "Unless you want us to stay on the sidelines and help out."

"I think we've got it from here, Ben," said a Lewodan medic.

Dr. Animo let out a growl and kicked one of the unfortunate medics into a counter. Several containers of gauze and cotton balls clattered to the floor.

The Lewodan medic brought a marshmallowy white finger to his lip and tapped. "Then again, I may have spoken too soon."

Ben face palmed. "Geez, come on, Doc! You do this _every_ time." He turned to address one of the closest medics. "Seriously, guys, it's been this long and you've never come up with, I dunno, some kind of Animo tranquilizer darts for just such an occasion?"

"Sorry, Ben. As great an idea as that sounds, it's not in the budget at the moment," she said.

Dr. Animo continued to struggle while the entire medical team grabbed at his uninjured arm and legs, trying to get the restraints on him. They failed each time. Like any wounded animal, Animo was far more unruly and dangerous when he was trapped.

"Mr. Animo, please, be reasonable," one of the other female medics said.

"It's _Doctor_!" Animo shouted. "Take your fins off me!" He bared his yellow fangs and gave a sharp growl, causing her to squeal and back away.

"Here," said the head medic, a tall, half-reptilian, half-bird-like alien, upon entering the room. He held up a small blue pill. "We need to get him to ingest this."

"What the heck is that thing?" Ben asked. "A painkiller?"

"It is a nanite capsule," said Rook. "I have never seen one up close before. Very innovative."

"Yes," said the head medic. "Once inside the body, it will release a legion of nanites that will mend the bones and ligaments directly from within, in a matter of hours."

"Neat." Ben leaned over to Rook and nudged him. In a lower tone, he said, "So, what're these guys getting paid for again?"

"Ben." Rook gave him a disapproving look.

Ben smirked and shrugged. "I was only joking."

Rook observed Dr. Animo once again. "Jokes aside, I think the major problem here will be getting Animo to swallow the pill."

"Meh, I remember how my dog used to be at the vet," said Ben, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The vet used to just hold him, pry open his mouth and shove the pill down. No big."

"Yes. That does seem standard procedure. But Doctor Animo is not a dog," Rook said with such seriousness in his face and tone that it made Ben snort.

"Well, he's definitely something," said Ben. He and Rook flinched as more items crashed to the floor.

"Ah, watch your fingers! He's a biter!"

"Release me!"

Animo strained against his captors even harder than before, despite the burning sensation in his forearm. He'd been through worse. Still, how demeaning, having his enemies treat his wounds. And worse—Ben Tennyson being right in the room, watching the whole thing. He snarled, once again prying his uninjured hand free of the restraint cuff one of the white-coated medical personnel tried to snap it into.

Ben folded his arms sternly. "You're not going anywhere, Animo. Except back to your cell once these guys get you treated."

"Swallow please," urged the medic trying to administer the nanite capsule. However, he did so tentatively, an uneasy look on his face.

"Never!" Animo shouted, jerking his head away. He almost managed to free himself of the medical team's collective grasp before a streak of pain foiled him. He fell back on the table, wincing.

"Oh, for the love of..."

Ben had enough of sitting on the sidelines and watching the events unfold. He stepped forward and reached his skinny arm through the squirming bodies. He jabbed a finger into Animo's right arm, causing him to tense up again and stifle a scream.

"Okay, Animo, playtime's over. It's time to take your medicine!" Ben urged the medical team away from the table. "You guys can step back. I got this."

The team looked at Ben with confused faces for a split-second. He was the superhero here, after all. They exchanged nods and fled from the table. Ben had already dialed in his hero of choice. He slapped his palm on the Omnitrix just as Animo realized his temporary freedom. Before Animo could jump from the table, Four Arms grabbed him securely.

Four Arms looked over his shoulder, spotting the medic with the capsule. He reached with his free hand and plucked it from the alien's gloved palm. "Yoink! I'll take this."

"Let go of me, Tennyson!" Animo found himself straining quite futilely against a mass of alien muscle.

"Sure, I'll let you go, Doc. After you down that pill so we can get back to our lives, and you can get back to serving out your time."

Four Arms wrapped one arm around Animo's body, pinning him. With the other two, he grabbed Animo's head and pried open his mouth. Animo uttered muffled protests and attempted to jerk away, but this time couldn't. With the last hand, he popped the pill into Animo's mouth, pushing it to the back of his throat. Four Arms held Animo's mouth shut, then tipped the man's head back fully, waiting through the muffled growls until Animo was forced to swallow. Afterward, Animo coughed a few times and spit, a grimace on his face. Four Arms grabbed Animo once again and held his mouth open, staring past the blue tongue, inspecting the region more thoroughly than he'd ever wanted to. The capsule had successfully gone down Animo's throat.

"There. See? Easy," said Four Arms, dusting off two hands while the other held the disgruntled Animo firmly.

"Maybe for you," said a medic. "You're the superhero."

"Yeah," said Four Arms, giving a casual shrug. "You're right about that."

Animo wiped the spit from his jaw. "Curse you, Tennyson! One day, I swear I'll-"

The rest of the team looked relieved. While Animo continued his rant at Ben, the door slid open. Rook and the medics turned to see Blukic and Driba stroll in, carrying a small box between them.

"Package delivery for the med team," said Blukic. He and Driba wandered over to Rook's feet.

Rook looked down. "At a time like this? They are with a patient. A very difficult patient, I might add."

"Well, we would have gotten here sooner, but Blukic had to use the little Galvan's room," said Driba.

Rook took the package from them. He handed it over to the head of the medical team.

The head medic inspected the package and opened it, a look of surprise coming over him. "Oh!" He pulled out a small air compressed dart gun and a package of serum vials filled with purple liquid.

Rook blinked. "Is that what I think it is?"

"They found some money in the budget," said Blukic, placing his tiny arms behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Seems to me like it would come in handy for more than just these occasions," said Driba, watching Ben and Animo squabble loudly. So loudly, he placed his fingers in his ear holes while cringing.

"Most definitely," said Rook. "If I may?" He gestured to the head medic, who nodded and handed him the weapon. Rook loaded it and aimed at Animo, busy swatting at Ben's four-eyed face with a clawed hand. "Ben!" Four Arms turned, his eyes settling on Rook. "They found some money in the budget!"

Four Arms broke into a smug smile as Dr. Animo gulped. "We coulda used that about ten minutes ago! But it'll definitely make things easier from now on." He grabbed Animo to prevent him from squirming. "See, Doc? They made this especially for_you_. Consider it a gift."

"Er. Can we discuss this?" Animo said nervously, now trapped in a headlock. "After all, I've already ingested the pill."

"No!" everyone in the room shouted.

"With this, we can now deliver Animo's medication easily. As well as take him down when necessary," said Rook, drawing bead on Animo. Before he could make the shot, Animo panicked, bared his teeth wide and sank them into Ben's thick arm.

"AAAAAAAAAUGH!" Four Arms released his grip and rubbed at the wound. Luckily, Animo's teeth couldn't piece his Tetramandian skin, but it still hurt. A _lot_.

Of course, Animo had scrambled away the second Ben's four alien hands were off his person. Terrified, the medics dove out of his way, leaving him a wide path to freedom. He fled through the double doors and out into the hallway.

"Hmm. Probably shoulda closed and locked those," Blukic remarked flatly.

"Well," said Driba to Rook, "at least now you can take the dart gun out for a better field test."

Rook groaned. He turned back to Ben. "Ben, Animo has escaped!"

"I know that!" Four Arms threw up two hands while the other rubbed furiously at his stinging bicep. "But he won't get far." Four Arms ran to the doorway, cramming his bulky body through it. Rook followed in hot pursuit.

Four Arms and Rook's heads turned this way and that. The main hallway broke off into several other adjoining hallways, each going to different parts of the medical ward. No telling which way Animo had gone. The main hall showed no trace of him.

"Aw, man! Where'd he go?" The Omnitrix timed out, leaving Ben to grab two handfuls of his shaggy hair in frustration. "I'll never understand how an old guy like Animo can get around so fast!"

"He is very spry," Rook said. He placed the dart gun in a holster on his hip and took out his Proto-Tool, favoring its multi-functionality. "Transforming into Wildmutt might help track him down."

Ben dialed in Wildmutt and hit the Omnitrix. Wildmutt's slobbering form appeared. He gave a hoarse roar and took off down the hallway, his head low to the ground. After only a few moments, he picked up Animo's trail and motioned to Rook with a clawed hand. Rook jumped onto Wildmutt's back. They tore down the hallway fast as Wildmutt could manage, thankful that no one had thought to mop recently. Then again, that might have helped slow Animo down for them.

"There he is!" Rook shouted, as they rounded a corner and saw Animo making a run for the elevators.

Animo flinched, turning. His adversaries were coming at him at breakneck speed, Ben in his freakish alien dog form, his blue friend riding on his back. He slammed his fist on the elevator button again, but the machine took its sweet time.

The bell dinged just as Ben's Omnitrix timed out, changing him back into a human seven feet short of Animo. He let out a yell as he flew through the air, propelled by Wildmutt's previous running speed. Rook fell off Ben's shoulders and toppled to the ground, dropping his Proto-Tool. The grapple meant for Animo's legs fired into the air and hit the ceiling. Ben face-planted, coming to a grinding halt in front of the opening elevator doors.

'Well, that worked out nicely," said Animo, a bit stunned by his good fortune. He stepped into the elevator with a maniacal cackle and pressed the button for the upper level. "See you around, Tennyson. And whoever that blue guy you hang around with is."

"Rook Blonko," said Rook, picking himself off the floor. "And I regret to inform you that you are not going anywhere but to your cell, Dr. Animo." He paused to aim his Proto-Tool. "Actually, I do not regret informing you that."

"Heard that one already," Animo sneered.

"You've already heard this one today _too_," Ben said as he got up from the floor and tackled Animo just as the elevator doors began to close.

"Ben!" Rook called out. He ran to the door and tried to pry it open, to no avail. A scuffle sounded from within.

Ben had Animo backed against the wall, the two struggling for balance. Animo grabbed Ben's wrist and held it away from himself. The Omnitrix flashed red, making a low warbling sound.

"Fool! You may be a match for me in your alien forms, but not as a punk kid!"

Ben grinned. "Then I guess I'll just have to," he grabbed Animo's previously injured arm and twisted it up, "exploit your weakness!"

Animo's face contorted in pain. He let out a high-pitched shriek.

"How's the arm, Animo?"

"Still hurts... _still hurts!_" Animo yelled. "Ow, ow, ow, _ow!" _Animo's voice turned into a pleading whimper while his knees began to buckle._" _Aaaah!Let go!_"_

Ben didn't, knowing better. But he eased up a little. "Are you going to give up and go back to your cell peacefully?"

Animo hissed through clenched teeth, waiting for the excruciating pain to go back to a dull throb. "Probably not," he said, after a long pause.

"Yeah," Ben said as the Omnitrix repowered, "that's what I thought. But Kickin' Hawk is gonna make you-"

Ben quickly vanished in the usual green glow and Ball Weevil appeared in his place.

"Oh man!" Ball Weevil shook his small yellow head. "Omnitrix, you just do this to mess with me, don't you?"

Animo's boot quickly came down on Ball Weevil's small form. He grunted and strained, trying to push the weight off of his tiny body.

"Ha! You think you can capture me with this thing? You're dumber than you look, Tennyson. Now be a good little alien insect, and go _splat_."

"Ah, hey, I get that you're not happy about the situation... but... ugh! You really don't wanna squeeze me like this! I had a triple belly buster and chili fries for lunch... it hasn't had time to digest yet!" Ball Weevil grunted, his tiny legs squirming wildly. Animo put more weight on him, grinding his boot a few times for good measure. Ball Weevil threw his head back. "Uuuugh, I keep forgetting... the bad guys always do the _opposite_ of what you suggest them not to do!"

"This is for defeating my cricket!" Animo lifted his boot and stomped, hard. "This is for fracturing my arm!" He repeated the motion. "This is for dragging me back to your infernal Plumber prison, and this is for shoving your alien fingers down my throat during that humiliating medical procedure!" Stomp. Stomp. _Stomp_.

"Uuuah, hey, first off—UAGH! You fractured the arm yourself—ugh! Falling off your own stupid mutant cricket!"

Snarling, Animo ground his boot as hard as he could against the alien exoskeleton. "I wouldn't have fallen off, if _you hadn't shot a laser at my face_!"

Ball Weevil squeezed his eyes shut. "Oooh, now you did it... I don't feel so good."

He began to rapidly burp up gooey green plasma onto Animo's foot. Animo gasped as Ball Weevil belched up more plasma over his legs.

"Gah! Stop!" Dr. Animo tried to move away, but his feet were glued in the sticky substance.

"I..." Ball Weevil said through random burps of plasma, "can't!"

Rook used a special attachment on his Proto-Tool to pry open the elevator doors. His eyes went wide as he got the doors open about a foot, only to see Ball Weevil trapped inside his own green explosive goo, along with Dr. Animo. "Ben!"

"Can't... stop..." Ball Weevil belched out, looking dazed. His tiny green pupils were squinted shut."Gonna... blow!"

"Noooooo!" Dr. Animo yelled, shielding his head with his arms.

Cringing, Rook let the doors slam shut again. An explosion rocked the elevator. Once again, Rook pried open the doors. An acrid smoke came billowing out, which Rook waved away from his face. On the floor of the elevator, he found Dr. Animo, subdued—by way of being knocked senseless—and Ben, back in his human form.

"M-medic!" Ben said weakly, raising a shaky finger into the air.

Back in the medical ward, Ben grumbled to himself as one of the female medics placed gauze around his aching head.

"Here you are." The head medic had another capsule, which he placed into Ben's open palm.

Ben tossed it down his throat with as much anger as he could muster, glaring at Dr. Animo. "I swear, I am _never_ going easy on Animo again," he grumbled before chugging some water.

Rook offered a gentle smile to his battered and bruised partner. "At the very least, I expect Dr. Animo will now think twice before he attempts to escape from the med ward."

A disheveled Dr. Animo, bearing scorch marks across his face, his clothing torn in random places, and the left lens of his goggles broken out, bristled silently as the medics treated his new wounds. Despite the indignation, he had lost the will to protest.

"Thanks to you, he will only end up more injured than when he arrived."


End file.
